Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Thor God Of Thunder #17Thor: God of Thunder #17
Marvel Comics
Aaron, Garney, Lupacchino & Svorcina

The "Accursed" concludes with a stellar issue that is full of surprises. Jason Aaron follows up his surprise from the previous issue where Thor is revealed to be the traitor with a bunch of additional twists that leaves this storyline concluded but another epic in the making sometime down the road. While this isn't a perfect issue it certainly is among the best in what is proving to be a fantastic series overall.

Malekith bugged Thor by actually putting a bug inside the God of Thunder. This allowed Thor to become the eyes and ears for Malekith as he stayed one step ahead of Thor and the League of Realms. While the idea is a great one it was a little too convenient that this was done "before this whole ordeal ever began" which is a little too vague for my tastes but the action quickly distracts the reader away from the absent details.

All-out war then ensues as the League of Realms shows up to battle Malekith and the dark elves on his side. This leads to a number of great surprises. There are battle tactic surprises and character surprises as Thor shows he is no blond dummy. Just as the battle seems to tip towards Thor's favor Aaron drops the bombshell surprise.

The book has a shift pace between the introduction and the epilogue but this is assisted by the clever twists that Aaron throws out there. The book is at its best when it jerks the reader into an unexpected direction. The beauty of the comic is that some many new threads can be opened up with how this arc leaves off. It's truly great storytelling.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsThe artwork holds this issue back from being something extremely special. The line work is very vague and too many of the panels have characters with barely any facial details as a result. The action sparkles in a few spots but for the most part it is too difficult to determine character placement on the transition from panel to panel as well as the telling characters apart from one another in general. The artwork just seems to have too many hands involved and it seems too rushed to be truly called "finished." The art is serviceable to help tell the story but that's about the limit.

The arc is a great one. It isn't the best of Jason Aaron's run but this finale is on par with any finale of his previous Thor arcs. The comic has everything in it to tug the reader in one direction or another and that is a big plus while reading this comic book. I definitely recommend checking this out.

4 out of 5 Geek Goggles